Paid Or Unpaid Work In Hong Kong

What Are You Really Buying From A Hong Kong Immigration Consultant?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in 60 Second Snapshot, Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 9 responses

What Do You Get For Your Money When You Instruct A Hong Kong Immigration Consultant? First Published 2012 (15 Years Ago – Look How Young I Am!) PRACTICE UPDATE OCTOBER 2026: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: Look, if you head over to any expat forum or Reddit […]

Considerably Heightened Diligence by ImmD on All Types of Hong Kong Visa Applications

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Family Visas, Investment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Sherpa, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

Updated October 12, 2026.   Heightened ImmD Scrutiny ImmD shifted from a traditional “process and approve” paradigm to an aggressive compliance-and-audit model. This heightened diligence has been driven by several key factors: 1. Abuse of New Talent Schemes: Massive application volumes under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) and QMAS led to illicit intermediaries selling […]

Can I Study Then Get Married All Whilst Holding A Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsored By A Company I No Longer Work For?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / 4 responses

Life in Hong Kong throws up many new opportunities and this question seeks to understand the implications for 7 years continuous residency in respect of an eventual right of abode application where an overall switch over in life plans sees a lady intending to relinquish her employment visa for a student or dependant visa … […]

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Does Time Spent Outside of Hong Kong Working For A Hong Kong Employer Break Continuity of Residence for PR Purposes After 7 Years?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Long Stay & PR, Your Question Answered / No responses

Time spent outside of Hong Kong working for a Hong Kong employer? This question has come up before but the questioner has assumed that his training visa will be extended subsequently so…  QUESTION I am married and have two kids aged 8 and 5. I have recently taken up employment in Hong Kong with a […]

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Hong Kong Work Visa – Is 2 Years Post Graduation Work Experience An Absolute Prerequisite?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

If you are a graduate is it hard and fast that you need at least 2 years post graduation working experience in a managerial or supervisory capacity in order to secure a Hong Kong work visa – or is there some wriggle room in this regard? QUESTION Hi there, I have heard in one of […]

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How Can You Extend Your Hong Kong Work Visa if Your Passport Is About to Expire?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Musing / 5 responses

How can you extend your Hong Kong work visa if your passport  has only a very limited amount of time remaining on it before it expires? QUESTION Hello, My passport is currently being renewed but my Hong Kong work visa runs out very soon.  However I cannot start the visa extension application process without a new […]

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Can I Set Up A Hong Kong Company, Employ My Business Partner & Sponsor An Employment Visa For Him?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: This piece explores the common strategy where one partner incorporates a company to hire their co-founder under an employment visa rather than an investment visa. While the advice historically warned that ImmD scrutinizes “new business situations” and checks whether the […]

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Lame Excuses Won’t Cut It If You’re Caught Working In Hong Kong Without An Employment Visa

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Feature Article, Investment Visas, Musing, Refusals & Appeals, Special Programmes, Visitor Visas / 2 responses

Caught Working in Hong Kong Without an Employment Visa? If you’re working in Hong Kong  (paid, unpaid or temporarily transferred in) but do not have an employment visa sponsored by your current employer you are breaking the law and could be subject to 3 years imprisonment and/or up to a HKD350,000 fine. The law is very […]

Can I Sponsor Myself For Freelance Work ‘On-the-Side’ Whilst Working For My Current Hong Kong Employment Visa Sponsor?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses

This is joining in a side business albeit in another name…and a solution for certain types of Hong Kong Employment Visa holders thinking about freelancing in Hong Kong PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy: The advice regarding securing ImmD permission to “join in a side business” under Section […]

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How Will Your Employment Visa Application Be Impacted If The Hong Kong Company Employing You Is New?

Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Hadley Says…, Investment Visas / 3 responses

Where your proposed employer is a brand new company you can expect the Hong Kong Immigration Department to look very closely at the enterprise to make sure that it is in fact a suitable sponsor for your working visa permissions. In many ways, the due diligence which the Hong Kong ID undertake is very much […]